A visual design displayed by a fabric article contributes greatly to the desirability of that article. Manufacturers expend great effort in creating and providing fabric articles that have desirable designs, and consumers expend great effort in seeking out fabric articles which have desirable designs. The most common sources of visual information emanating from a fabric article's design come from the fabric itself and from silk-screening or otherwise painting on the fabric. These are passive designs because they are viewed only after light passively reflects from the designs. However, active sources can provide another dimension to the visual information emanating from fabric articles.
Over the years, numerous attempts have been made at configuring fabric articles, and particularly clothing, to include electrically operated lights. None of these attempts have achieved wide-spread acceptance by consumers. Consumers have rejected prior illuminated clothing attempts due to discomfort and high costs. The discomfort results, in large part, because conventional illuminated fabric articles fail to approximate the light weight, pliability, and/or low resilience which characterize textiles from which fabric articles are made. Even though the design of an article of clothing is very important to a consumer, comfort for the wearer of an article of clothing is also important. When an article of illuminated clothing is uncomfortable to wear, the desirability of including lights in the clothing design diminishes considerably. And, this diminishment compounds if the article of clothing is also expensive.
Early illuminated articles of clothing have been uncomfortable and costly because they rely on conventional electrical circuit techniques. Some articles have incorporated conventional fiberglass or otherwise rigid printed circuit boards in the article of clothing. Often times, multiple boards are coupled together and to energization sources through wires which rub against the body. Unfortunately, wearing rigid circuit boards and wiring underneath clothing is extremely uncomfortable, and the level of discomfort increases as the size and weight of the circuit board or boards increase.
Others apparently recognize the discomfort problem caused by rigid and heavy circuitry. Their articles attempt to provide clothing that includes a circuit sheet. The circuit sheet includes a thin, supple, flexible, insulating film material as a substrate upon which a conductive pattern is formed. In attempting to provide a thin, supple, and flexible film, they rely upon such expensive materials as Mylar, Kapton, and Polyester for the insulating film material and upon expensive conventional copper cladding techniques to provide a conductive pattern. Although costly, the resulting circuit sheet may be supple and flexible when compared to rigid fiberglass printed circuit boards.
However, when compared to the skin against which the circuit sheet is worn, it is neither supple nor flexible. Consequently, when normal body movements force the circuit sheet against and into the skin, the skin deforms from its set shape far more readily than the circuit sheet deforms from its set shape. Moreover, these substrate and conductive pattern materials are substantially resilient so that they continue to press against the body even after they flex in response to normal body movements. This continued pressure produces annoying skin irritation. Still further, these substrate and conductor materials do not breath or absorb moisture. Consequently, the body has trouble cooling itself where the circuit sheet resides and body perspiration tends to accumulate. In short, prior attempts at providing illuminated clothing which promote comfort have been unsuccessful.